Everyone talks about dry fire. I just don't get it. Standing inside at home shooting at targets?
...
Until I thought about it and over the weekend ...

Get the actual books about dry fire (there are 2-3 standard ones).

It's important to understand WHAT you are gaining from dry fire, WHY that method works and HOW it works. Sure you can figure it out all by yourself, but you'll go through the "trial and error" process that the book authors went through themselves on their way to making Grand Master. That's a lot of years and a lot of trial and error.

Arguably the most important concept that is not obvious when one is trying to go on his own is "shot calling" and "accuracy/speed/match modes," well described by Steve Anderson. The next very important concept is how dry fire and live fire are connected to make them complementary, rather than conflicting.

Hi. I agree 100%. The problem I find is my mind is largely blank when I'm shooting. I'm just putting the gun on target, pulling the trigger, and my brain is largely off. I know that's not good ... it's just that I JUST started and my brain turns off when the buzzer goes off. The good news is safety is kind of soldered on to my brain so that's automatic.

Good to hear that safety is at the top. The buzzer causing you to blank is something we've all felt. One thing that helped me was to consciously visualize stage plan while I'm waiting. Unless you mean that you're only blanking when you are shooting and questioning if you have "seen what you need to see" in order to get a proper shot. In that case, you can learn a lot from the 3 yard line--and other distances of course. Your splits are looking good.

Also, try your best to stick with your original plan. I rarely ever change my plan just because I saw someone do something "cool". It has to be very compelling. For example, in the video below starting at 46 seconds, I was actually planning on running directly downrange after the first three targets. I saw someone dart across the bay in the previous squad. This was compelling in the sense that I could avoid having to run uprange while pointing the gun safely downrange--the video should help you see what I mean. That's a weak point for me and an easy enough adjustment given that particular stage setup.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by krb

Any other tips on speed besides magazine change? I'm finally actually doing mag changes while I'm running which is better than before. Also, when I do my walk through I SEE where I'm supposed to do mag changes - the problem is my mind is a blank once the buzzer goes off and I forget everything!

Some General Advice from a "C Class" Production shooter.

It looks like you are aware of these, it's now about programming yourself to do these consistently without having to repeatedly tell yourself to do so.

Movement
There's the idea of getting the mag change done in the first step which should allow you to run. Running is a good way to cut your time. I mean really running. Know your limits, of course. Also, learn about the appropriate type of movement. In my video above starting at 46 seconds, you'll see that long strides and pumping with my weak-hand worked well for clearing large, open spaces. The trick is knowing when to start your slow-down process--i.e., the pitter-patter steps. This is something that I was able to work on in dry-fire practice.

Related to movement, think about keeping the gun up and ready to fire when you're close to your next position. Many ranges will have walls that you'll be able to see through. Get the gun up and on target before you hit the position.

Prime example for you to review: your 3rd video around the 0:17 mark. One example of getting the gun up and ready before you hit your spot: the slide I did around the 2:39 mark of the vid above.

Quicker transitions for close arrays can often be accomplished by some sort of lunge-type movement. There was a decent lunge in the video above around 20 seconds. Unfortunately, you'll have to contact those fantastic sponsors to learn more! (<<that's me making light of the RO doing his job. It just so happens that he blocked the move I made)

Or something like this. See how the lunge helped me get started on movement allowing me to hit some targets on the move? You'll also notice that I chose to NOT attempt a lunge-reload going into the low port. That was probably a good call for me.

Transitions
Transitions between targets could use a bit of a touch-up as well. Then again, I shoot a 20 something ounce plastic-fantastic gun so what the heck do I know about muscling around a 1911?

Positioning
Always be on the lookout for a position that will allow you to address as many targets without having to move your feet. Something like video 2 around 15 seconds . . . Could you have positioned yourself a bit better to engage the 3 targets without shifting your feet? Perhaps you could have even engaged all 5--it's kind of hard to tell if you would break the 180 from that vantage point.

On the plus side: Much of the recommendations that you're receiving can be worked on during dry-fire. There are fantastic resources from high level shooters on the subject. You should definitely check those out.

Oh and uhhhh . . . don’t drop mags like I did. That will really kill your time. And strive to go 1-for-1 on steel.